This book features some of my all tome favorite tropes. This is ultimately a story about grief, loss, friendship, and family and I definitely shed a few tears. Would highly recommend.

This book follows high school seniors Adam Stillwater and Whitney Mitchell. While they were once close friends, now they mainly spar on Twitter via their respective family businesses’ social media accounts.

Palestinian and Sicilian American Adam is trying to keep his deceased father’s beloved pinball arcade alive, but his mother is exhausted, and it’s time for him to think about college. Cued-white Whitney, meanwhile, is trying to get her father—an entrepreneur who’s finally hit it big with an e-sports place—to notice her by handling his social media.

Whitney and Adam drifted apart when high school started: she got cool, while he got caught up in running the arcade. Set in the run-up to their Philadelphia neighborhood’s winter festival, and told alternatingly by Adam and Whitney—and their snarky social media exchanges—the book shows Adam’s lingering grief, and Whitney’s doubts being cool and the cost it takes.

It gets better tho, who here likes the forced proximity trope? Its one of my personal FAVORITES. so.. there's a snowstorm. I won't go into too many details but it ends with the two of them stuck inside TOGETHER in the arcade while it rages on.

This book does a great job setting up the camaraderie between local merchants and it’s so much fun to see the two leads work through the past to build a future, not to mention all the puinball jokes and puns!

While I enjoyed the characters and the struggles they were personally going through, I didn’t love the timing of the story and wasn’t able to follow the plot a majority of the time. I felt like the book moved slowly, and it didn’t pick up until halfway through. The characters took forever to meet and have a conversation (a real one, not an online one). However, I love the “online rivals tweeting at each other” premise, and Whitney and Adam were so cute. The banter and the part where they were snowed in the arcade was great.

Adam and his mom run a local pinball arcade that was the pride and joy of his late father. Since it is the tether to his dad, Adam focuses on trying to make things work and prevent an e-sports company from purchasing his dad's legacy.

Whitney is a senior in high school who is handling many hurdles along the way. She handles the social media account for her dad's e-sports café business. Yes, the same e-sports company who is looking to acquire the pinball arcade.

Add in a untimely snow storm trapping both Adam and Whitney in the arcade overnight and the fun is bound to happen. As a fan of 80's music, I was intrigued title nod to a Fleetwood Mac song. As a large part of this book involves a pinball arcade, I was committed to read it without any additional information. I feel like some of the back story of the grief Adam is dealing with after the loss of his father could have been expanded on a bit, but otherwise I enjoyed it. 4 out of 5 stars.

Adam and Whitney used to be friends. Then highschool happened and despite having a lot in common - they both help their parents run businesses alongside studying - they are little more than online enemies, bickering online via their business accounts.

I won't lie, there is a lot which annoys me about this book. The fact that they continually act like children using their business social media account, that Whitney's "girls" never make it past superficial nastiness despite her being best friends with them for 4/5 years, the pinball monologues. Don't get me wrong, I knew that You Can Go Your Own Way was set in a gaming genre and Adam's love for pinball machines shines through in Smith's writing, but the book would have benefited from the same attention to detail and love applied to many of the characters too.

It was only our two main characters who developed in three dimensions which is a shame as there are so many people in the book I would have loved to know more about.

All in all, sadly You Can Your Own Way didn't get past simply being OK for me. Perhaps this is simply because I am about 20 years past their key demographic age, if I were younger perhaps I would have related to it more. Unfortunately though although i was pleased it all worked out for them in the end, I can't stay I particularly cared about many of the characters.

This got me with the title - love a good nod to Fleetwood Mac! I was in the mood for something cute & contemporary, and although this had some darker topics throughout, it fit the bill exactly. I love the enemies-to-lovers trope, especially when handled in a way that doesn't make the journey too quick, and this was perfect. The addition of pop culture references in this were also a fun little treat - I had a great time picking them out while reading!

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a sweet YA novel that reminded me of tweet Cute. I liked the interaction of characters and the enemies to friends storyline unfolded.

OKAYYYY, so what I thought about this book. Let me just start off and say it sounded so cute and I really want to enjoy it. But still haven’t gotten the chance to read it, been super out of touch and started a reading slump. Im giving it 5 stars because I expected to be good, so guessing here. But you know reading slumps really suck. But thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the e-arc and chance to read it

Much like the other book I read by this author, it was ok, but not my favorite. I think the narration style is just much more subdued and angsty than I prefer. I love a silly, uplifting rom com, and this was definitely more of an angsty coming of age story. If that's what you're looking for, I think it will definitely be a good read, just don't go into it expecting it to be something it's not. I'm giving it a 4 star rating, because while I don't love the style, that is not in any way a negative for the book, and I truly do feel that if this is your type of read it's a solid 4 stars.

You Can Go Your Own Way is the latest novel to come from the mind of Eric Smith. It's a young adult romance, with several other surprising elements woven into the mix. In other words, it is precisely the sort of reading I was looking for (you guys know I love genre-blending books).

Adam Stillwater knows that he has no business trying to run his father's business – a pinball arcade in need of some help. But he can't just walk away from the only thing he has left of his father even when everyone else is telling him to do exactly that.

Then there's Whitney Mitchell. She doesn't really have anybody in her life at the moment, having been quite literally uprooted recently against her wishes. Mostly, Whitney keeps herself busy by running a social media page for her dad's business – which involves insulting/roasting the pinball arcade nearby. You can imagine how this is going to turn out.

First, let's address the elephant in the room, yes? The real reason I picked up You Can Go Your Own Way is because it is totally using a Fleetwood Mac song for the title. That's both clever and hilarious. So it instantly succeeded in getting my attention.

The second thing that drew me in was how relatable the characters were. Adam and Whitney's situations are so...human. It's easy to picture living in their shoes, drama and all. It's the perfect foundation for an endearing romance, don't you think?

Finally, I'll admit that I am fond of the enemies-to-lovers trope, which You Can Go Your Own Way has in spades. If this is a trope you adore, then you really ought to check this book out. Oh! And did I mention there's so much banter? Especially as insults are slung back and forth. It makes for a fun read.

I won't lie, since Eric's previous book Don't Read the Comments was my favorite book of last year I've wanted to get my hands on pretty much anything he has a hand in writing. His writing style and the depth of his storytelling is something I really enjoy. There are no flat characters, everyone has a distinct personality to them. Adam and Whitney do have a couple well known tropes thrown at them (enemies to lovers and forced proximity) but it's not done in a predictable way. They each have their own issues they need to deal with whether it be with family, grief or other complex issues - then they have their own relationship to work through.

In fact, this book has a huge emphasis on family, whether it be Adam still working through his grief for his father, or Whitney striving for any kind of attention from her father. Just like in Don't Read the Comments, there are strong conversations on different family dynamics and roles.

At this point I will likely reach for anything Eric writes as I've loved everything so far. His writing and characters especially make the stories come to life and make you genuinely care about the outcome.

I have to be honest that this book didn't really work for me. But I think that is largely due to my age. I think had I read this as a teen, I might have gotten more out of it. It did have have a good message about dealing with grief. and letting go. I liked the sections from the book about pinball that Adam loved to read. They fit well with the theme. It was just really slow for me. They don't even get caught in the blizzard until about halfway through the book. The fight was a bit petty between Adam and Whitney. I just have no patience for things like that. As I said, I think I just wasn't the audience for this. But give it a try anyway.

I was looking forward to this book, and I'm so glad it lived up to my expectations. I love these kinds of contemporary romances and this one delivers. Rivals to lovers, forced proximity and a whole lot of drama. All paired with cute moments, and amazing and thoroughly enjoyable social media banter, which legit had me laughing.

For my first Eric Smith book, I'm not disappointed and y'all should definitely check this out. It's a cute contemporary read with great characters, an interesting premise and a fantastic plot.

Thank you to Inkyard Press and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

True rating: 4.5/5

This was really cute! I enjoyed both Adam and Whitney as characters. I also enjoyed how Adam did his best to handle adversity. I think the angst in this is top notch. The prose flows really well and the romance is spectacularly done. I love how Eric's voice is gentle and nurturing, but also tells the story in a clear and concise manner.

I think this story is fun, sweet and just an all around great book! I highly recommend it.

I was drawn into reading this book for two reasons -- one, I'm always looking for stories to read with my young adult son and I'm a huge fan of disaster tales especially when there is romance involved. I was not disappointed on either point. Eric Smith is a new-top-me author.

You Can Go Your Own Way is a story of two young adults trying to navigate difficult familial situations - the loss of a business and the loss of a marriage. Adam and Whitney square off over pinball versus e-sports to find themselves trapped together during a blizzard setting up to have some deep conversation and verbal sparring during their time together.

The question then becomes whether their time together formed bonds to continue once the crisis is over.

I liked the characters and the story here, especially the references to social media and current times. Overall, this was an easy read, an engaging story and a cute romance that I enjoyed.

I guess this was sort of cute. I enjoyed the setting, and Adam’s best friend Chris is a gem.

However, I couldn’t get past how the author kept referring to Whitney’s friends as “the girls”. Didn’t matter what character was saying it, they all only referred to them as “the girls”. Every single time, and it happened often, I would cringe. The portrayal of female friendship was so clearly written from a male perspective. And I get that the friends were supposed to be using Whitney, but the issues went beyond the plot device. It was gross and felt a little sexist.

In some parts of dialogue it was hard to discern who said what. The character voices sounded the same and the formatting didn’t provide clarity.

The story was a little typical but there were a few cute parts that made me chuckle. I might maybe recommend this to young teens looking for a wintery Rom Com.

Eric Smith does it again. I don't know how he isn't a massive NYT bestseller at this point because his books continue to impress.

Thank to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for a digital copy in exchange for a review.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me. The summary explains that there are video games and arcades involved, and I was fine with that, but there was SO much more than I expected. And I'm just not into that! I never owned a video game growing up and I didn't really spend time at arcades, so the overwhelming amount of pinball information was just boring to me. From the summary it seemed the story was going to be focused more on the teen romance, and it just... wasn't. I guess I went into this book expecting something different.

If you're a pinball fan, you'll probably love this book.

The Review

This was a brilliant and well-written YA contemporary romance and family drama. The author does a fantastic job of making the story and characters come to life on the page, feeling very real and engaging as a whole. The settings played such a vital part of the narrative in this book, and the arcade especially felt like a character all its own, as if we could just walk in off the street today to pay homage to this brilliant blast from the past.

The character development was so moving and brilliantly crafted in this narrative. The emotional toll each character is going through is felt so much in their stories, from Adam’s heartbreaking loss to the desperation to be seen that Whitney is going through. The way these two get lost in their own personal turmoil and clash with one another, and the way they find their way back to one another, is so entertaining and gripping to read that I felt lost in their growing narrative.

The Verdict

A memorable, heartfelt, and thoughtful approach to the YA Contemporary Romance, author Eric Smith’s “You Can Go Your Own Way” is the perfect read for this fall! The balance found in the old-school arcade and classic rock style Adam embodies with the more modern video game and social media world that Whitney embodied was amazing to read and watch unfold, and the way they found a bridge to connect with one another was an emotional payoff that readers won’t want to miss.

One of the things I really enjoyed about this book is the nostalgic feel of Adam’s chapters. It’s a contemporary novel, set in the present day (minus covid), but Adam has a lot of love for bands his dad loved and for the vintage pinball machines his dad was obsessed with before he died. I haven’t played a lot of pinball in my life, but I felt like the descriptions of the game play and the machines made perfect sense and was really engaging. I also couldn’t help connecting with Adam and his complex, unresolved grief with all his nerdy amazingness.

Whitney is super different than Adam is. She’s sleek, cool, and incredibly driven, and yet I felt an instant connection with her, too. I really appreciated her wit and tenacity. She is definitely one of those characters who acts tough and has a soft heart underneath, and I love those!

In addition to all of that, there are some very fun social media situations and conversations, plus a community of indie business owners who all show up for each other. If you know me, you know community is another thing that I tend to adore in the books I read. It just feels so real, and makes the characters feel like part of a real world, you know?

YOU CAN GO YOUR OWN WAY is the first book by Eric Smith that I’ve read, though I’m pretty sure I own his others! Reading this made me really want to read everything he’s written. I felt like the relationships were super real and the characters were really easy to connect with. I think readers who enjoy contemporary romance will have a lot to love in this book.

I suppose my only complaint is the ear worm that constantly happens to me every time I read the title. Every. Time. I guess I can live with a little music in my head. Ha!

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.